Love your Burial Ground Week is a celebratory week during 3-11th June which has been running for many years. Caring for God’s Acre has been encouraging all who help to look after churchyards, chapel yards and cemeteries to celebrate these fantastic places in the lovely month of June – in any way you choose.
More about Simon Pollard here: https://simonpollard.uk
Please join us on Sunday 4th June from 2.30pm for a wonderful guided nature discovery session led by expert Simon Pollard. In this session you will learn about the various species and nature that can be found within these grounds and help us to send these recordings to the official inature directories for Love your Burial Ground Week.
Bring the children along on this family friendly activity.
Following this session, you will then hear from Dode’s Keeper Doug Chapman with a talk on the history of Dode Church and the newest addition of Holly Barrow.
Many people believe that Dode was built in 1100 by Gundulf, a Norman Bishop and contemporary & confidant of both William the Conqueror and his son William Rufus. There is good historical evidence to suggest this. Bishop Gundulf is best known for building the Tower of London (White Tower) and Colchester Castle.
The author of Lord of the Rings, J.R.R Tolkien, was well acquainted with the life and times of Gundulf as he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon history at Oxford.
So, this begs the question; was Gandalf’s name (arguably the most famous wizard in literature) based on the builder of Dode? The similarity to the name together with the reference to the Two Towers certainly may be more than just a coincidence!
If you would like to learn more of both the history of Dode and some of its magical, mystical stories – including the appearance of ‘the Dode Child’.
To attend please confirm your interest via the booking link. – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/love-your-burial-ground-week-discovering-nature-history-talk-at-dode-tickets-639217204867?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb
(bookings close Wednesday at 9pm)
To avoid people booking tickets and not attending, we have implemented a small charge of £5.00 with all proceeds being donated to our chosen charity for the year which is The Wisdom Hospice.
For questions please email becky@dodevillage.com
